Graham Chalmers

It's the biggest day of the year for vinyl record fans across Britain and Harrogate is doing its 7-inch and 33rpm best to celebrate the great day.

P&C Music, the town’s leading independent music retailer, is opening early on Saturday morning with a treasure trove of exclusive new releases and a tie-in with an indie craft beer bar.
As part of the tenth Record Store Day, the shop at Devonshire Place on Skipton Road will be opening from 8am free for the queue of customers which usually starts snaking down Skipton Road from the wee small hours.
Shop owner Peter Robinson said it was always a thrill to see the excitement of fans in action during this annual celebration of independent, local record shops and vinyl records.
He said: “I love Record Store Day. Everyone has a great time. There’s always witty banter in the queue.
“And the delight on people’s faces when they secure a rare, limited edition vinyl record is something to treasure.”
Among the tempting rarieties to hit the shelves for Record Store Day at P&C Music will be new vinyl exclusives from Prince, David Bowie, The Cure, Motorhead, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, The Smiths, The Creation, The Brian Jonestown Massacre and Spacemen 3.
But the trickiest part of the annual event happens before the doors even open.
Peter said: “The important part of preparing is choosing exactly what records to stock.
“It’s a thrill to look at the sheer variety of records. It’s really exciting when the first boxes come in.”
Should it be a bit cold on Saturday morning, Peter will be offering free coffee and croissant to the earliest vinyl fans to arrive as has now become almost traditional.
And that is not all this year.
From noon, the shop will also be ‘twinning’ with award-winning bar Ten Devonshire Place a few doors along with hot food available from its Hades Kitchen.
Appropriately enough, the menu will have a music theme including Lamb Lies Down on Broadway burger, Back in Black cake and Smells Like Bean Spirit burger.
Once the excitement of Saturday is over for Peter and his wife Lise who is as well known to customers as Peter, it will be back to his normal business of serving Harrogate’s music needs. in popular and classical music.
Peter said: “It’s a family business. We enjoy meeting music fans on the day, some of whom are regular customers and some newcomers. We make new friends every year.
“But a good record shop makes a unique contribution to the cultural life of a town all year round.”
(Please note, each customer in the queue is restricted to a maximum purchase of five items at one time.
And free coffee and croissants will be offered to the first 30 customers.)
And there’s more Harrogate-related news for vinyl record fans.
Metal, punk and rock vinyl is available at Evil Eye Records which is located next to Major Tom’s Social bar on The Ginnel in Harrogate.
And Mellowtones Records, an independent boutique label co-run by Harrogate’s Richard McTague, is making Topanga Canyon, the critically-acclaimed album by Seafoam Green, available for the first time as a limited edition vinyl double LP with a gatefold sleeve on Record Store Day.